30 April 2006

we've been following this saga for a few years now. we dont even remember how it was that we first learned about this tree probably through a news story or the like.

anyway the wollemi pine tree is a native of australia and thought to be extinct for millions of years. then one day back in 1994 a guy named david noble who is a nsw national parks and wildlife services officer was out "bush walking" near sydney and came across a small stand of unusual trees. he took a branch back to be analyzed and thats how they were rediscovered. the australian government immediately moved to protect the stand - its location is a secret and began a program to propagate them.

so we have been waiting the past few years for them to become available to the general public and we noticed that from 01 april they are available to australians and will be soon be available to interested parties in the usa, uk and elsewhere.

we have always been interested in having new and unique things around here and thanks to the green thumb we inherited from our irish grandmother we believe that since we have slash and ponderosa pine trees here that wollemi pine trees would do well here also.

27 April 2006

we had already made up our minds a few days ago that we were not voting for this turkey for secretary of state - it was his vote in support of state senator and fellow fake republican julie quinn's sb 564 that we blogged about here that did it for us. dardenne's rather lame excuse for his vote yesterday against an abortion ban adds insult to injury:

Louisiana Political News Service:Although abortion has been a controversial and divisive issue at the State Capitol in past years, the tone of Wednesday’s debate was calm and professional as the pro-life position has apparently gained great support over the past decade.

The target of immediate and intense criticism for his vote, Senator Jay Dardenne issued a statement at the end of the day claiming that he had accidentally pushed the wrong button on the voting machine on his desk. Pro-life leaders, who have fought Dardenne on a host of issues, ridiculed Dardenne’s claim, insisting that no veteran senator would make such a monumental mistake on a highly visible bill such as SB 33.

Adding to Dardenne’s credibility gap on the issue is his past support of a bill that allowed taxpayer funds to be used to finance abortions.

Republican leaders plan to meet with Dardenne to ask him to exit the race for Secretary of State and run for another statewide office at a later date so the senator can have time to recover some of the credibility he has lost overnight.

“The problem is simple: No one believes Jay Dardenne is telling the truth…that he pushed the red button instead of the green button by mistake,” one GOP leader insisted.

mayhaw jelly is quite simply the best jelly in the world. growing up it was extremely hard to come by. receiving a jar of homemade mayhaw jelly from friends or family was (still is) one of the best gifts you could ever receive. kept refrigerated and eaten only occasionally in order to save it for as long as possible it serves well to cement friendships because you cant help but think about the person who gave it to you as its savored. thats why we are so glad that mr elmer langston has been so successful with his mayhaw orchard and mayhaw processing company located near pollock, grant parish, louisiana.there is a story in today's town talk captioned: "Mayhaw production continues to ripen in Cenla" heres a snip:

Langston, who began his farm in 1988, has helped build the industry in Central Louisiana and boasts the largest mayhaw production farm in existence. Culled from about 2,000 hawthorn trees, the farm is nestled in the rolling hills of Grant Parish, a little northwest of Pollock.

The Louisiana Mayhaw Association also sponsors an annual mayhaw cooking contest, in which locals are encouraged to submit their recipes to help find new and innovative uses for mayhaws.

This year's contest, which was held on March 18 in Woodworth, featured a wide range of recipes, said Lou Altazan-Brown, an extension agent with the AgCenter.

"There were cakes, a glaze for a smoked salmon, and someone had a new wine," Altazan-Brown said.

according to the article langston is inviting people to come out to his orchard and pick their own mayhaws from 8am till 4pm monday - friday. what you arent there yet?click here to view the town talk's photo gallery of langston's mayhaw orchard and his processing facility. click the link to read the story.

naked ownership has posted about sb 77, which is a bill (constitutional amendment) about civil suit appeals. it seems like a good idea but before we decide we would like to know where the jurisdiction for administrative agency determinations and workers compensation matters will lie? otherwise the bill changes the appeals court civil scope of review to questions of law only. currently the appeals court may review civil suit appeals: "as provided by law' and/or "in the interest of justice." allowing the appeals court to consider in the interest of justice brings in a lot of other things for the court to consider like your attitude, state of mind, whether people like you or not, or if they consider you good enough to decide for, all this despite whether or not you are right legally. you know the usual louisiana crap. one example that comes to mind that shows "louisiana crap" is in the film easy rider... the restaurant scene...you might remember who attacked and beat to death jack nicholson's character george hanson? - the name of the parish was mentioned in that scene. the guy wearing the cat diesel power hat lol. that attitude is louisiana crap.

so if the appeals court is limited to reviewing matters of law only that should (although you never know what the leges are up to) take away the louisiana crap. sb77 was scheduled to be heard by senate committee on judiciary a on 25 april 2006. however, according to its website the bill wasnt heard that day.

25 April 2006

here we go again with another bait and switch republican. louisiana state senator julie quinn is alledgedly a republican. republican's are supposed to stand for less government and more personal freedom. why then we have to wonder did senator quinn introduce her four page monstrosity SB 564, which mandates parents "to attend a minimum number of parent-teacher conferences?"

now we arent saying that you shouldnt attend your childs parent-teacher conference(s) because hey we should but it should be our choice.

what gives the state the right to mandate this?

what gives the state the right to turn our kids teacher and principal into some sort of defacto police force keeping tabs on what we do or dont do?

what gives the teacher or principal the right to send out a letter "...outlining the consequences of failure to schedule or attend parent-teacher conferences and a demand for a response?" additionally this legislation makes the principal ".. sole judge of whether the failure to schedule or attend parent-teacher conferences is acceptable under the circumstances."

oh and look which senators voted in support of this draconian legislation.

to senator quinn we say: girlfriend, you might have been a trophy "date" in high school but your actions in the real world trifling with personal freedoms and peoples lives is ugly. you need to go on back to the country club or selling real estate or whatever you did before you became a senator because you are unfit for the office you hold.

24 April 2006

here comes jackass joe salter...again. this time with house bill 731. salter's amendment "repeals two-thirds vote requirement for legislative approval of imposition or increase in certain fees." louisiana constitution article VII section 2..1. now this guy is governor blanco's hand picked speaker of the louisiana state house of representatives and we have to ask is this the best the governor can do? and to the people of house district 24 we have to ask is this the best you can do in electing someone to represent you in baton rouge?

23 April 2006

April 22, 2006, 12:35AMPrison-run radio has captive listeners'It kind of frees you from the atmosphere that you're in,' DJ says

By PAUL VON ZIELBAUERNew York Times

ANGOLA, LA. - KLSP, a radio station with one turntable, six employees and a $48 weekly payroll, has limited reach over this patch of swampy farmland and razor wire northwest of Baton Rouge. It is meant to be that way.

The station director and many of the DJs are convicted murderers. Most of its 5,100 listeners are serving life sentences at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. The 100-foot metal pole that transmits the station's FCC-approved signal — a relatively weak but consistent 100 watts — rises from a grassy knoll behind death row.

Home to 83 men, death row is where KLSP-FM (91.7), which prison officials say is the nation's only licensed prison radio station, finds its most dedicated audience and the inspiration for its core mission: spreading the word of Jesus (and an occasional message from the warden) to men doomed to die behind bars.

"Our greatest challenge is to give hope where there is hopelessness," said Burl Cain, the warden at Angola, where the average sentence is 89.9 years with almost no chance of parole.

"This radio station helps do that — it beams out positive information, positive gospel music," he said. "Even gospel rap."

The station is in a two-room cinderblock shed next to Angola's main prison compound. KLSP, "the incarceration station, the station that kicks behind the bricks," as Sirvoris Sutton, a DJ and program manager, puts it, broadcasts from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.

A Harris AirWave mixing board, two CD players, an aging Gem Sound turntable and a digital playlist pump out a steady variety of gospel during work hours. After 6 p.m., the prison's six DJs, who earn 20 cents an hour, spin an eclectic mix of bluegrass, hip-hop and golden oldies. Friday nights, after a talk show for 170 Muslim inmates, KLSP reveals its regional bias, playing hours of swamp pop, a Cajun brand of rock 'n' roll.

Prison officials screen all music for sexual, violent or negative lyrics; gangsta rap and heavy metal are not played. The station has no telephone, so song requests arrive by prison mail. DJs, all of them inmate trustys allowed to move without guards, can be fired for breaking the smallest rule.

"It's one of the better jobs you can have here," said Sutton, 35. (His on-air name, DJ Shaq, was given to him by inmates when he dunked a basketball.)

KLSP, says Cain, is central to what he calls the prison's "Bapticostal" underpinnings, which foster a mutual respect between his administration and the inmates.

"When you hear a song from your childhood, it kind of frees you from the atmosphere that you're in," said Rockin' Robin Polk, a KLSP DJ and technician.

22 April 2006

added 11:05 am cdt sunday 22 april 2006: boy were we wrong. we predicted that neither mayor nagin or lt gov landrieu would make it to the runoff. lol@us. now we have nothing against mayor nagin he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. a victim of circumstance. consider the military. if the captain of a ship no matter how great of a captain he may be if something catastrophic happens to that ship and/or its company he is relieved of his command. simple as that.

we are shocked that 31,499 (29%) of you were dumb enough to actually vote for mitch landrieu. you know mitch landrieu scion son of the the same crowd who left your black and white asses stranded at the superdome and convention center? the same crowd who appointed and perpetuated the corrupt orleans levee boards. you remember the levee boards right? they were more interested in having a party than in actually inspecting and maintaining the levees? you remember the levees right? those large lumps of dirt that failed and allowed the water to flood new orleans?

that loud sound that you hear this morning is the collective sigh of millions of americans from hawaii to alaska to maine who upon awakening opened their morning paper only to discover that hurricane katrina taught orleanians nothing - you still havent learned your lesson. and yes its true the city is yours to vote in whomever you please, however, when you are going before the rest of the country with your hat in your hands looking for a handout you have the responsibility, no the duty to meet potential benefactors at least halfway. if you think that the people of this country were sick of hearing about new orleans and its plight before then as is said in the navy "stand by for heavy rolls."

we received this email from christopher tidmore; please consider listening and/or calling into his show today:To all candidates and friends of candidates,

Please pass on.

From 4-5pm on WVOG 600 AM New Orleans, any candidatefor office in the Orleans Elections will receive 5minutes to pitch his or her candidacy to the voters.

The slots will start at 4 after the news and gowithout interruption until the show's end.

For those I told of this previously, the call innumber is different. 504-830-5619.

Candidates can reserve slots in advance by emailing mewith confirmation of their call and what time bestsuits them this afternoon. Otherwise, just call in,and every candidate will be taken on a first come,first serve basis.

This is, of course, free of charge...My service to theelectorate.

Tell your supporters to listen to WVOG 600 AM NewOrleans from 4-5pm, and pass on this message to anycampaigns that might be able to use it.

20 April 2006

"The only thing a field-negro despises more than a house negro is a cooning negro...

The most famous coon in American history is a man by the name of Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry. -If you guessed who this is, you might be a coon- This famous coon is also known as Stepin Fetchit, and in honor of him I have a list. Yes, it's the first annual Stepin Fetchit Awards, and the nominees are: Drum roll please!

excerpt:

Nipsey Russell-Have you ever watched those reruns of game shows? Nipsey was the brother with the big afro and the pearly whites cooning for the game show audience.Cuba Gooding, Jr,.-Show me the money! No, show me the coon. Ever since Boyz In The Hood, it's been all down hill to coonville for my man.Al Roker- Yo Al, is the weather always sunny in your world? Geez, could you cut down on the cooning just a notch?

AND THE STEPIN FETCHIT AWARD GOES TO..... you know what, I think I will see what type of feed back I get via emails and posts and make my decision then."

This weekend is your opportunity to reshape the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana. Although New Orleans is one of the greatest cities in the world, it is also filled with corruption and poverty. There are two classes of people in New Orleans, the upper class and the lower class; the middle class has almost completely vanished from the city. Without a middle class, the structure of the city is weak. The gap between upper and lower class has become a black hole that continues to destroy the cities economy.

In reality, the upper class does not care about the lower class. Since the upper class controls the city, their actions are not in favor of the lower class. The perfect example is the Orleans Parish school system, which is one of the worst in the state. The upper class has no interest in improving the school system and the lower class does not have the voice to make a difference. There are always promises to improve education, but have any improvements been made?

The point I am trying to make is that New Orleans needs a fresh start. When you go cast your vote on Saturday, please make an educated choice. I am not endorsing a particular candidate, but I do think Mitch Landrieu should not be the next mayor of New Orleans. The City of New Orleans has been on a downfall since Moon Landrieu (Mitch Landrieu’s father) was Mayor. Mary Landrieu, Mitch’s sister, has done nothing but make false promises. Is this the type of leadership you want? Do you want this continuous incompetent leadership that has plagued New Orleans for years? There are two dozen candidates running for mayor and having Mitch Landrieu as one of the top candidates does not show the nation that New Orleans wants change.

Governor Blanco has made an effort to “blast” Ray Nagin she claims he has done nothing because he is campaigning. It is obvious Governor Blanco wants Mitch Landrieu in office because he will be a puppet. Mary will be pulling one side while Blanco is yanking on the other side. I think Blanco is also a little upset because Nagin called her out during the aftermath of Katrina. Nagin could not get the resources he needed because the governor could not make a decision. So now, she is turning this around as if she made no mistakes. With a low approval rating of 36% and Mary Landrieu’s continuous approval rating numbers falling, electing Mitch Landrieu will be giving power to the two most unpopular “leaders” in our state. It is unfortunate, but if Mitch is elected the federal government will be least likely to fund more rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. Mitch Landrieu is New Orleans’ worst enemy so remember when going to the polls this weekend “Ditch Mitch, Voter For Someone Else.”

last month we blogged about la speaker of the house of representatives joe salter's ridiculous house bill 259 see salter's spidery windshield scheme. bonehead salter's plan is to require windshield repair people to have to register with and pay a you guessed it a fee to the state. well recently the full house voted on salter's bill and below are the members of the la house of representatives who are for unneeded and oppressive fees, regulations and beurecracy:

ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana – Middleton Gold Weems Victims, Inc. (The Group) announced today that the number of former clients with claims of legal abuse against the Alexandria attorney and his former employer, Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues, & Rundell Firm (Gold Law Firm), has risen significantly during the last six months.

Company spokesman Sam Eakin stated, “Credible claims against Mr. Middleton as well as claims against the Gold Law Firm by their former clients have continued to increase in recent months, both in numbers and scope. Originally the complaints included allegations of legal abuse for the time period that Mr. Middleton was employed by the Gold Law Firm. However, new complaints have arisen from individuals who have been represented by Mr. Middleton subsequent to his departure from the Gold Law Firm. This represents a new group of individuals who are speaking out about the conduct of Mr. Middleton, and it is anticipated that this group will also seek to obtain justice through the court system. Based on the continuing flow of information, we expect to see a continued growth claims by former clients, at every level.”

At least two new formal complaints against Mr. Middleton and his new partners have been made to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) recently, with more expected. According to Eakin, “Formal, documented complaints submitted directly to the LADB by Mr. Middleton’s own clients over the past three years now exceed twenty. However, not every claimant within the Group has formally filed a complaint with the LADB, largely because the Group was discouraged from submitting additional complaints by the LADB itself. The complaints that were filed allege that Mr. Middleton and his partners charged exorbitant fees to their clients. Group members believe that total applicable fees charged to former clients of Mr. Middleton and the Gold Law Firm are in the millions of dollars. Unfortunately, filing a claim of legal abuse with the LADB against a major law firm in Louisiana is like filing a claim of budget abuse with FEMA; it may make you feel better but it doesn’t get results. Despite three years of consistent, recurring claims of debilitating legal abuse by the clients of Mr. Middleton and his existing and former partners, the LADB has sat silent while scores of families suffered financial and emotional abuse from their own attorneys. Our collective experience reflects that the LADB has made a mockery of the regulatory system for the Louisiana Bar through its inaction. As a result, the Group was left no choice but to litigate issues that should have been resolved through an effective regulatory process.”

According to Eakin, the Ogdenmiddletonvictims.net and Goldweemsvictims.net websites will be upgraded and updated with new information in response to increases in viewership and the support the site has received from consumers and attorneys statewide. The Group plans to convert the website into an active non-profit publication dedicated to the research and prevention of legal abuse in Louisiana.

we went on the governor's website a few minutes ago with the intention of contacting her to express our disappointment and outrage at mike thompson being appointed chairman of the commerce and industry board per our post here. this is what happened instead:

as you can see from this screen grab off the governor's website they have a contact page. on the contact page there is a link that says "E-mail the Governor"

looks like managekeelson.com is actually Eatel. this is not to slam eatel we are sure they are a great company, however, what is eatel doing managing the governor's website especially her constituent emails when there is already a state agency in place to do this? in other words why are our private emails to the governor being routed through a private company instead of being routed and managed by the state itself?
EXTERNAL LINK

so we were listening to moon griffon this morning and he happened to mention that mike thompson who is the brother of reservoir thug la state representative francis c thompson. (see our post here for a jumping off point on this story). anyway, we have to ask what could this guy possibly know about commerce and industry? this is just another glaring in your face example of louisiana's corruption. here we have a guy mike thompson he and his brother francis c thompson their family business is stealing people's land to build reservoirs - reservoirs which contain high end real estate developments on them and how are they rewarded? by thompson's brother being appointed chairman of the states commerce and industry board. do you really think that these people care about legitimate commerce and industry? no of course not they are all about enriching themselves and their cronies. this is shameful and its pitiful and the joke is on us the people of louisiana for allowing this to happen.

note: the state board of commerce and industry advises the la. department of economic development. the louisiana department of economic development according to their website is "The state agency charged with attracting new business and industry to Louisiana and providing economic development services to resident industry, ..."

Governor appoints 15 from major economic groups in the state and 1 who is an Elected Municipal Official from a list of 3 submitted by Municipal Association. Governor, Lt. Governor, and Secretary of Department of Economic Development serve Ex-Officio.

so, last night we were channel surfing and came to stop at...we are embarrased to admit this..faux news, but only because they were doing an interview with the aunt (fathers sister) of natalee holloway. anyway, during the course of the interview we noticed in the crawl all the "news channels" do nowadays, something about franklin graham comparing the us army 's [iraq] sacrifice to the sacrifice made by jesus?!? so this morning we held our nose's and went on fox news website but couldnt find the story. next we did a google news search on franklin graham (which is what we should have done in the first place) and found a story.

first off it was an army the ROMAN army that scourged jesus. it was an army the ROMAN army that crucifed jesus. it was soldier's ROMAN soldier's that gambled over jesus's garments. when jesus, hanging on the cross asked for water it was soldier's ROMAN soldier's that gave him vinegar to drink instead. it was another soldier a ROMAN soldier who took a spear and stabbed jesus in the side. you get the picture?

army's are meant to kill people not provide aid and comfort and certainly not to carry out the great commission.franklin graham's even suggesting something like this is offensive and odious. we wonder how many pieces of silver it took for graham to become a propaganda prostitute for the bush white house, the zionists and the military industrial complex?

WST note: On Monday at 8:00 p.m. CDT, the top seven of the 23 candidates will face off in a nationally televised debate about their visions for the future of New Orleans. MSNBC's Chris Matthews and NBC affiliate WDSU's Norman Robinson will jointly moderate the one-hour debate, which will take place at WDSU's studio and will air live on WDSU and on MSNBC.

After so many emails after my first article on “We Saw That” I decided to get another one out soon. I am glad to see that people are excited to read my articles.

After much coverage, the New Orleans Mayor race will finally be decided on Saturday, April 22, 2006. I am getting a feeling Mitch Landrieu is losing ground and I will go as for as saying Landrieu could possibly not even make it into a runoff. First of all, he took heat when he ran a commercial in which he was “saving” people in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. It was obvious Mitch took advantage of people suffering in order to strengthen his political career. Unfortunately for Mitch, it backfired. Mayor Ray Nagin is going to be in the runoff, but who will battle it out to be the leader of New Orleans for the next four year? It will either be Ron Forman or Peggy Wilson. I think Ron Forman has the edge over Wilson. To further support my prediction, lets see who will be voting.

There will be the black lower class who will be taken to the polls throughout the state. Most of the evacuees will vote for Nagin but Landrieu will take away some of Nagin’s votes, however Nagin will still get enough from this group to push him into the runoff. Then there are the middle and upper class voters who are of both white and black. Nagin will carry the middle and upper class black voters, but Landrieu will take away some of these votes from Nagin; this only helps the other candidates. The group that will decide this race is the middle and upper class white voters. The middle and upper class voters of both races will go out and vote, but no matter how much the media tries to hide it, race will always be a factor in elections. The white middle and upper class voters will vote for a white candidate who shares their views. Although Forman is a democrat, he might appeal to enough conservative voters to put him ahead of Landrieu. However, Wilson will take away some of these votes from him, but since Forman is a Democrat he will pick up votes from the other groups (lower class whites and some middle class blacks) to give him the strength to beat Landrieu.

Robert Couhig could possibly be a sleeper in this race, but Wilson and Forman and Couhig will all be each other’s own worst enemy. However, all three will take away votes from Landrieu. If the Republican voters stick together, it will be enough to get either Wilson or Couhig in the runoff. In reality, I do not see a white female Republican winning a New Orleans Mayors race. I think the lack of leadership that Governor Blanco has shown will play a factor in some voters’ decision not to vote for a woman. Blanco has given female politicians a black eye, but hopefully voters will realize that Blanco’s lack of leadership had nothing to do with her being female. There are many male politicians who show lack of leadership and many female politicians who were born to be a leader. State Rep., Karen St. Germain, is an example of a female leader who has done a lot for her district. So it would be disappointing to see voters base their decision on sex.

This whole New Orleans election is a complex election for all candidates and with the voters spread throughout the United States, it will be interesting to see what will happen. There are so many factors in this race and it is possible that the unlikely will happen. Ray Nagin or Mitch Landrieu might not even make it into a runoff. With 24 (it might be 22 now) candidates pushing voters in a city that was nearly destroyed 7 months ago the unexpected will happen. I honestly think that the people are tired of the Landrieu’s so Mitch has lost some creditability and Ray Nagin lost the white vote when he made is Chocolate City comment so it will be a wild election day on Saturday. There is one thing to watch out for.

Citizens of New Orleans please be aware of one thing, CORRUPTION. With so many places to vote all around the state, only the candidates with a lot of money will be able to have people stationed at each voting location. One thing I learned when I ran for office was that it is important to have people watching what goes on, because other candidates will try anything they can to influence voters. Also, is there an “official” voters list? Who is to say that someone is not registered to vote? Did any voting records get destroyed during the hurricane? I know that this is a recipe for chaos.

My prediction: Ray Nagin and Ron Forman will be the top two candidates who will battle it out in a runoff. Ray Nagin will then have the upper hand, which will lead to a victory over Ron Forman, but it will be a close one.

One more add in: We all know Governor Blanco is behind the scenes in Mitch Landrieu’s campaign. Governor Blanco has a 36% approval rate. Governor Blanco will do more harm than good for ole Mitchie boy.

I want to thank all of you who read my articles and please continue to visit “We Saw That”. Look forward to more of my articles. --END--

note: christopher "chris" williams follows and participates in louisiana politics from his lair at plaquemine (iberville parish) louisiana. williams looks forward to receiving your email at the following address:

I received an email that I just have to share with all of my readers. I want to thank “We Saw That” for allowing me to post this article, these guys do a heck of a job with their blog and to allow me to post means a lot to me. Here is the email.

Dear Mr. Williams:

I have two words, Chocolate City. You are supporting a guy who wants an all black city. What is wrong with you? I thought you were one of us? You seemed to be a die hard conservative and the last person I thought you would support would be Ray Nagin. You need a wake up call brother because we need the right color back in New Orleans. New Orleans needs to be “The Milky City” and as long as jokers like yourself support Ray Nagin, it will continue to become a dark chocolate city. Wake up Mr. Williams!

D. Bellot

Well D. Bellot, just because I think Ray Nagin will win doesn’t mean I support him and if I did support him I don’t need your approval. And who exactly is “one of us”? I am not from a certain group nor do I represent a certain culture, I try to reach out to everyone. And as for as the whole race thing goes, I can care less whether the mayor of New Orleans is white, black, or green I just want to see the best candidate win. It is rare that the best candidate wins in a Louisiana election, but I can assure you that I would rather see Ray win than see that fake chump Mitch Landrieu sink New Orleans the say way his father did. So D. Bellot please read the whole article before you start bashing me. Thanks for visiting and I hope you come back, thanks.

16 April 2006

this is probably the number one story that shows louisiana good ol boy network corruption. its bold. its in your face and you're not human if you dont feel outraged at what is being perpetrated against these peaceful people of washington parish, louisiana.

it boils down to this: la state representative francis c thompson and his brother are in the reservoir building business. actually the reservoir building business is a front to what they are really up to which is building high end residential homes and subdivisions of the gated entry kind. how convenient that francis thompson is in the louisiana legislature and can pass the bills necessary to use the power of the state to first steal the land under eminent domain laws then turn right around and have his brother build the reservoirs on the very land that they are stealing in the first place.

but dont take our word for it you owe it to yourself to take a few hours out of your life and explore all these websites and blogs dedicated to uncovering it all. if you are reading this and you are a citizen of the usa then you owe it to yourself as well as to the people of louisiana to contact your congressional delegation and tell them NOT to send any money here. tell them louisiana right now is near hopelessly corrupt and the only people that will get relief money is the same crooks and charletans as the ones documented here not the people that are in need. tell them that these same charletans and crooks then will use the money to finance even more frauds and schemes against the people.

if you watch the waste of money movie towards the end you will see a black man address the reservoir commission. his words receive the most applause. and no we arent trying to turn this into a black white "thing" we are just saying that perhaps the good lord is using this dilemma to teach us all a good lesson. maybe that lesson is that we have to cast aside divisions racial, economic, whatever and work together black, white, rich, poor, young, old etc. our land is worth coming together and fighting for.

====

this was sent in today by a reader please take a few moments and read it. thanks.

In Louisiana, private property can be taken and transferred to another owner. Louisiana calls this Expropriation, which means to take without asking. In 2001, Self-serving Legislation, House Bill 1136 by Rep. Francis C. Thompson allowed sale of land taken by Eminent Domain to Third Party without first offering to sell back to original owner. Thompson is currently selling lakefront lots for personal gain.

As a citizen of Washington Parish, I wish to let all of you know that I and many others in my parish oppose SB 639 in its current form. The abuse of Eminent Domain is alive and well in Washington Parish in regards to the Washington Parish reservoir, and the 13 other reservoir districts with expropriation powers in our state.

To create an Economic Development District with expropriation powers will only perpetuate the problem of the abuse that currently exists. I believe that economic development can occur without trampling on the property rights of our citizens.

The citizens of Washington Parish are not opposed to economic development and growth; however, we are opposed to the use of Eminent Domain for economic development, and unnecessary purposes.

Regretfully, there are those who abuse the Eminent Domain law. SB 639 in its current form will give unlimited expropriation powers to an appointed commission. SB 639 is in direct conflict with SB 1 that is currently before a committee.

The property owners of Washington Parish might as well consider themselves the same as citizens of Cuba, China or some other communist country where you can have use of your property until someone else wants to take it from you.

I promise you that the majority of the citizens of Washington Parish do not know that this bill gives expropriation powers to a commission. I'm sure Senator Nevers posted a legal notice; however, he didn't mention the use of Eminent Domain in the notice.

I ask that you amend SB 639 by removing the expropriation powers, and to give the voters of Washington Parish the opportunity to select their own commissioners by ballot. I believe this is a reasonable request.

**updated 8:16 am cdt wednesday 19 april 2006**chad over at the dead pelican (thanks chad) is running this story this morning:

NEVERS IS A "NO SHOW" AT HEARING xxxx APRIL 19, 2006 xxxx 06:48:17 CT

**EXCLUSIVE**

On on April 13, the committee on SENATE LOCAL & MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS got together to discuss SB 639. The bill was authored by Senator Ben Nevers (D- Bogalusa). The bill's purpose is to "create the Washington Parish Economic Development District." Some opponents of the bill believe that it enables elected officials to take land more easily, and attended the meeting to voice opposition to the bill.

At the center of the controversy is the Oak Grove community in Washington Parish (Nevers' district). The Oak Grove community is already in the zone of a proposed reservoir, which the members of the community have been fighting for over a year now. At last week's hearing, several residents appeared before the committee to voice opposition to the bill. They made a considerably long trek from Bogalusa, Louisiana, to Baton Rouge where the bill was being considered. Jalon Beech, whose father is one of the persons effected by Nevers' proposed reservoir, actually took vacation time from her job.

Shortly after they got there, persons at the meeting say that the chairman, Sen. Cleo Fields, called the meeting to order. Another bill was considered before SB 639 and then approved. When it came time to discuss Senator Nevers' House bill 639, the chairman repeatedly called out Sen. Nevers name for him to submit his bill. However he wasn't in the room!

Attendees at the meeting tell THE DEAD PELICAN that a 15 minute recess was called, to figure out what had happened to Nevers. It slowly became apparent that Senator Nevers would not be attending. After the recess, the official word came that Nevers was a "no show," and that the bill would be deferred to a later date. After the announcement, Jalon Beech cried "Excuse me! Mr. Nevers has 3 constituents here from Washington Parish who made the long trip to testify in opposition to SB 639." She explained that she had taken vacation time from her job and expected to testify on the matter.

"I think he (Nevers) was afraid of being embarrassed," Beech told THE DEAD PELICAN. She and some of the other residents believe that he was worried about bringing up the bill in front of opponents, major media, and possibly the governor.

Senator Fields explained that since Sen. Nevers was the author of the bill that he could defer it, pull it, etc. at whatever time he wished. At that time, she thanked the senator and handed out "anti-reservoir" brochures to the members of the media.

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Some of the Oak Grove residents found it interesting that Senator Nevers chose not to attend this particular meeting. Jalon Beech, who was there, tells THE DEAD PELICAN that there was a significant media presence in the committee room: Alec Gifford of WDSU was there, along with a reporter from WAFB. The reason for the media presence was probably because of Governor Blanco, who was scheduled to testify for another bill that day, sources tell THE DEAD PELICAN.